My Little Find

I've been reading books on baking like crazy lately. I had recently read that you can whip egg whites up the best in a copper bowl. I think a copper bowl is mighty pretty too but am not about to pay full price for one either. So, the other day I was looking in a antique shop and saw this pretty, copper bowl for $10. I put my pears in it when I got home and still have yet to try whipping up the egg whites in it just yet. I may not polish it either as I think it looks pretty neat just as it is.

Father and Daughter

My husband just loves this little girl to pieces. She is the apple of his eye. She's a little loud, noisy, boisterous and fun just like her father.

Leah

It's so hard to see what your babies are going to look like when they are newborns. I see our pictures on our wall of Elisabeth and Hannah at 4 months old and I can see the resemblance. But, not from a newborn I can't. Leah, you're getting to be so pretty and cute!

Laying on tired daddy's tummy

I think daddy's a sleepyhead

Are you looking at daddy?

Pretty girl

Big girl.... all 14 lbs of you!

Just the Kids

Here's some pictures of the kids playing in the backyard the other day. You can never get enough pictures of them. For every picture of them I have probably 25-50 more on my computer, maybe more.

I see the bone, but where's the doggy in this picture?

You're looking pretty rough and tough there big guy!

Always pretty

And always cute...

Elderberry Syrup Tutorial

Take 1/2 cup of elderberries, place in pan and add 2 cups of water.

Add 1 cup of honey. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain liquid into a bowl or jar and squeeze excess liquid from elderberries as well.

Elderberry syrup


Good stuff!
I take it for my bronchitis flare ups. It's great for the children for coughs, colds and preventing the flu. It tastes great and I'm looking forward to making it with fresh, rather than dried elderberries one day.

Oops!

This is what happens to a beautiful, home ground, 100% wheat bread that's rising in the oven and you forget it's there and turn the oven on. Not too bad! We still ate it. It didn't even make it to its second rise. By the time I realized my bread was rising in there (or cooking), it was already 230 degrees in the oven. I knew the only chance I had at being able to enjoy my bread was to just let it continue cooking in the Kitchen Aid mixer bowl.

Working in the Yard

Here's a little spot on our driveway up to the house that we thought would look pretty with a little clearing of the branches and brush.

Daddy was clearing the branches around this fallen plum tree and the girls are loading up the wheel barrel.

See how pretty it's looking? A nice place to sit. Hannah's busy working.

Working his way up the driveway

Little Matthew taking a rest - on his back on the ground. Silly boy!

A nest we discovered in clearing the branches out

Pretty! It sits in our barn now.

A neighbor's field and cows down below our home.
Our weather has been gorgeous like this for 2 months now.

Looking at the cows. I think every child should be able to watch animals on a farm or in a field.

Little Leah all bundled up

Baby Leah - 4 Months

Oh, little Leah. This might be our wall hanger picture of you! I love you so much sweetie.

I love my babies at 4 months. It is my favorite time of being a mother to a baby. You can't be loved or needed any more and they are so sweet and responsive for the next several months.
She gets all excited when I walk in the room or talk to her during dinner. She's a little sweetie.

Rosebuds

The girls picked some rosebuds from our yard the other day. They had so much fun bringing me the rose buds. They are drying above our fireplace right now in some cheese cloth. I hope they turn out.

Hannah with a single rosebud

See Elisabeth in the background picking rosebuds too?

Pretty Rosebuds

Sourdough Pancakes - Yum!!!

Sourdough Starter

Whipped Egg Whites

Pancake Batter with Sourdough Starter

Fold egg whites gently into batter

Ready to go. Yes, my pan is this dark. I've had it for a good 10 years now and love the dark color that has developed.

Flipped over a tad too early but still looking good, huh?

And here you have one, delicious sourdough pancake. We made lots more on our skillet. : )



I made some REAL sourdough starter from "The Baker's Companion" King Arthur Cookbook. I made it with rye flour. After time it gets replaced with regular, unbleached flour and the rye taste gets replaced. After a week of getting the starter just right and making a big, fat loaf of sourdough bread that we already devoured, I had to make some sourdough pancakes. I added a cup of starter to this recipe from Mr. Breakfast: Homemade Pancakes. They were simply divine.

Bye Bye Couch : (

I LOVE the looks of the couch. When we got married and moved into this house we didn't have a couch. I found this little treasure at the Goodwill for $40. I have slept on it many a times while pregnant during the day. I have laid on it with my babies, played with my children on it, this was the couch they could rough house on, this is where I put my laundry to fold. Anyways, recently I was playing with the kids on the couch and it endured it first tear. I knew then that it was only a matter of time and it would end up at the dump for $60+ or we would have to give it away for free. Believe me, it's become the most uncomfortable couch to sit on now too. I love the material on it and the memories so I had to take a picture before some takers were happy to take it for free. I miss my couch. : (

Good Trade - Duck for Fish

We had a customer come by who works in the fishing industry. He asked my husband if he would trade one of our ducks for some fish. My husband was happy about this offer. One evening during dinner our customer came by with about 20 lbs of fish. I don't know what kind of fish this is but it's much bigger than a flounder. There were several in the box that my husband filleted that evening. We have had fish 3 times already and have a lot left in our freezer. He would like to trade crab, halibut and more. He also makes vodka and sells it for $10 a gallon. I am going to purchase some and make vanilla extract with it (soak cut vanilla beans in it for several weeks) and use it for some pasta recipes with tomato sauce, cream and vodka. Yum!

One of the fish

Dinner cooking - It was delicious